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BANQUET 



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HON. SIMON CAMERON 



m.kt St i\i Mum' $sm, M^ 2i* i»<'2, 



BY van 



PEOPLE OF HARRISBURG. 



HARRlSBURe^ : 

PRIMTBD AT " TKliEORAPB " JfOB OFflC*. 

\^' 1862* 



SPEECHES AND PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



OA.MERON Bi^NQUET. 



HAEEISBtJRS, MAT 2, 1862 



SeTorftl weeks since a number of our leading 
citizens, personal friends of Hon. Simon Catn- 
eroQ, desiring to testify their appreciation of his 
namerous services and tbeir esteem and regard 
for him as a man, citiaen and neighbor, hon- 
ored him with the tender of a public supper, 
previous to his leaving the country on the im- 
portant mission to Kossia. Owing, however, to 
Dumeroas business engagements, his acceptance 
of this kind offer on the part of his friends was 
not indicated until the early part of last week, 
when the committee having charge of the mat- 
ter at once commenced making arrangements, 
and the banquet came off at the Jones' House, 
in this city, on Friday evening, May 2nd. 

THB raVITATIOS AND HS ACOEPTANOB. 

Harrisbueg, Pa., April 7, 1862, 
Hon. Simon Cameron, Dear Sir: — The un- 
dersigaed, your personal friends and acquaint- 
ances, act willing that you should leave the 
country on your important mission as Minister 
Plenipotentiary to Russia, without having re- 
ceived some manifestation of the high esteem 
with which they regard your integrity as a man, 
and the entire coufidence they have in yoar 
great ability as a statesman, desire that you 
indicate some future occasion wtien it will be 
convenient for you to join your friends in par- 
taking of a banquet. In thus tendering to 
you the honor of such an entertainment, we 
feel that we are obeying the expressed desire of 
a large portion of your fellow citiaens who are 
not aware of this teader, bat who will gladly 



assemble around any board at which you may b9 
the distinguished and honored gueefc. 

You will please "iadicite the time most con- 
venient for you to partake of each a banqiiet, 
in your early reply to this note. 
Your friends, 

WILLIAM BUEHLEB, , 

A. J. JONES, 
JNO. A. FISHER, 
WM. DOCK, 
GEO. BERGNER, 
ROBERT A. LAMBERTON, 
E M. POLLOCK, 
DAVID McCORMIOK, 
ROBERT L. MUENOH, 
P. K. BOAS, 
CaARLKSF. MUENCH, 
WM. COLDER. 

OS}?. Cameron's bkflt. 

LooHiEL, Map 1, 1&62. 
GenhiEMem: — Your note of the 7 th of April, 
inviting me to partake of a banquet, aa a 
manifestation of the high esteem of my friends 
and fellow citissens, was duly received, but I 
have been unduly delayed in answering, owing 
to the preparations incident to my departure 
for Russia, the embarrasmei^t of a prosecn- 
ution growing out of the arrest of traitora 
while I was Secretary of War, and the neces- 
„ sity of my absence from home, in attendance 
on the President, to receive final instructions 
for the government of my embissy. These 
having been disposed of, I am now at leisure 
to acknowledge your veiy flattering note, and 
also to accept your very friendly invitation. 
It will afford me much pleasure to meet nay 



CAMBROW BiflfQOirr. 



friends and fellow citizens to-morrow (Friday) 
evening, if tliat time will meet the prepara- 
tions of your committee. 

With a high regard for the naembers of th« 
committee, indiTidnally, I am, gentlemen, 
Yours, truly, 
SIMON CAMEEON. 
To John A. Fisher, William Dock, William 
Buehler, George Bergner, E. M. Pollock, 
A. J. Jones, Wm. Colder, David McCormick, 
Robert A. Lamberton, F. K. Boas, Charles 
F. Mueneh, and other membere of the com- 
mittee. 

*HE OOMFANT IN WAITING. 

"Bho cibizens interested ia the banqoet com- 
menced assemblyiog in the large parlors of the 
Jones' House at an early hour on Friday even- 
ing. As the company arrived, they were usher- 
ed into those spacious rooms, where they were 
introduced to Gen. Cameron. During the inter 
vals of the arrivals and the banquet it must 
have been gratifying to the distinguished 
guest of this occasion to receive the many 
warm expressions of personal regard then ofler- 
ed by those who had known him from boyhood 
through years of stern struggle, to the hour 
when he had fairly won some of the brightest 
hoaors and largest confidence of his country- 
men Whatever tribute may hare been here- 
tofore offered to Gen. Cameron *in circles be- 
yond this locality, where the compliments of 
men are generally controlled by their own hopes 
of iaterest or gain, those which he has ever 
secured in the circles of his own home and 
among the citizens of this city, have been of a 
character which prove that he has a hold on ou 
people which no outside attacks can affect or 
destroy. 

THB BAKQtTEX HAH. 

While the company, with its distinguisbed 
guest, were thus awaiting the hour for the ban- 
quet, we availed ourselves of the courtesies and 
privileges usually tendered to the reportotial 
corps, to visit the banquet hall. This, of 
course, was in the usual dining saloon of the 
hotel, which was handsomely decorated and ar- 
ranged for the occasion, present) og a scene of 
the most beautiful description. The chandel- 
liers peudant from the ceiling and brackets pro- 
jecting from the walls flooied the large hall with 
intense lustre, amid which the bilver, china and 
glass ware of the tables, flashed with a bril- 
liancy almost overpowering to the eye. The 
tables, of which there were two running the 
entire length of the hall, fairly groaned beneath 
the weight of choice edibles, prepared in a 



manner that spoke volumes for the good taste 
and proficiency of Mr. David Hntchinson, 
to whom Col. Ck)verly entrusted this important 
part of the programme. 

THE BANQCEI'. 

About 8 J o'clock the doors of the banqueting 
hall were thrown open, and the company, 
numbering about one hundred and fifty, with 
their distinguished guest, proceeded to occupy 
seats aroimd the sumptously furnished table. 

His Honor, Wm. H. Kepner, Mayor of the 
city, occupied the h ad of the principal table, 
flanked on the left by his honor Judge Pear- 
son, and on the right by the distinguished 
guest of the evening. Gen. Cameron. Am^ng 
the company, we noticed Hon. Thomas B. 
Cochran, Auditor General of the State, Wno. 
M. Kerr, Esq., Judge Murray, Wm. Colder, 
Maj. John Brady, Gen. E. C. Wilson, George 
Trullinger, W. O. Hickok, Dr. Geo. Bailey, Dr. 
A. Patterson, J. B. Rutherford, Wm. Euehler, 
Es(i , Thomas C. Nicholson, of the Treasury De- 
partment, John A. Weir, Esq., Charles F, 
Mueneh, Samuel A, Power, of the Commisary 
General's Department, Cyrus J. Reese, Davicl 
Fleming, Esq., County Treasurer J. L. Speel, 
A. J. Herr, Esq., E. M. Pollock, David Mum- 
ma, Daniel Shell enberger, and a number 
of other leading men of the city, who vied with 
each other in their spoken and silent manifesta- 
tions of regard for the honored guest ol the 
occasion. 

The supper was discussed with a hearty 2iest, 
showing that the company fully appreciated ite 
merits. The bill of fare embraced all the 
choice delicacies of the season, divided off into 
several courses, intermingled with excfclient 
wines, and terminating with a desert of incom- 
parable richness. 

THE TOAST Off TH8 EVBNINO AND THE BI'KKOaKS. 

After the cloth was removed, his honor May- 
or Kepner announced the following toast : 

Simon Cameron— A Pennsylvanian who bftS 
nevtr forf?otten his native State— an American 
who has always been faithful to his conntrj 
and his cuuntrymen. His fellow citizens de- 
light to honor him. 

The enthusiastic applause with which this 
sentiment was greeted having somewhat smb- 
sided, . 

General CAMiBONsaid: Mr Mayor and I'el- 
low Citizens: I take it for granted that I am 
expected to say something in retorn for tke 
compliment you have been so kind as to confer 
upon me, yet I cannot speak to you, my fellow 
citizens, in any cold or formal language. Sinoe 



OA.MEROM BANQBTET. 



T 



I bave c©me into tbia room. all the thoughts of 
businees and of duty which crowded upon my I 
mind during thedvy hav6 fled, leaving only the 
(remembrance of tbe associatioos and friend- 
ships that I have experienced during the long 
fears of my residence in this, my home- I 
remember that this day foriy five years ago I 
came to Harrisburg — a poor, delicate, sickly 
boy— without any reliance but on the overruling 
control ot Providence and the reward which I 
had been taught to believe would always follow 
proper actions. The only countenance of those 
around me which I remember to have seen at 
that day, was that of my friend who sits beside 
me on the right, (Mr. 0. F. Muench,) who was 
then a boy younger than myself, and whom I 
met the day after entering the town. Ho was 
an apprentice in a printing office iiere, to 
which I went to obtain employment, and 
which I left with a feeling such as can be 
experienced only by those who are willing to 
work, are without money in their purse, and are 
destitute of friends upon whom to rely, when 
told "we cannot employ you." I can now re- 
member the name of only one living housekeeper 
in the town at that time. I rater to Judge 
Hummel. I made the acquaintance of the 
honored gentleman at the same time that I be- 
came the recipient of his generous hospitality. 
The first place at which I stopped to rest 
my weary limbs after reaching the town, was 
beneath the shade of an old willow tree in 
front of his house. He came oat and spoke 
kindly to me, inviting me into his home and 
we have been friends ever since. Sir, how the 
world has changed since then ! —how has every- 
thing about me changed ! A day or two after 
I saw my friend Muench I obtained employ- 
ment. I immediately went to work with such 
a heart and will as never fail to win fiuccess. 
During the daytime I worked for my employer 
and at night I cultivated my mind. A few 
years of assiduous toil made me the poEsessor 
of a printing office. When other men slept I 
tjontinued to toil, and felt certain that sooner 
or later I would feel equal, not alone in this 
world's goods but in the scale of merit and ca- 
pacity with other men around me. Why, sir, 
it was no uncommon thing for me to retire at 
midnight and rise at four in the morning to 
pursue my daily avocation. 

I have lived to see what was then a hamlet 
become tbe third city of the State. In my po- 
aitioQ as a newspaper journalist I necessarily 
came in contact with the political theories and 
important questions of the dav and never fail- 
ed to advocate what I conceived to bf) a wise 
and beueficial State policy in regard to a sys- 
tem of internal improvements. Siocethatday 
to the present time I may say that I have ac 
least hid something to do witu every work of 
improvement connected with tbe progress of 
chia city ,^nd State. The first efforts of my pen 
were directed in furtherance of the great poli- 
cy of internal improvements which brought 
forth our canal system. I next labored for years 
to seoure the erectioti of a reUrokd from 



Harrisburg to Lancaster, though laughsd 
at as a visionary boy who talked about 
carrying cars, wagons and freight on rails by 
steam. I am reminded here of aa expression 
made at one of the meetinga which we held in. 
favor of that railroad project — (for at that time 
I was in the habit of persuading my friends to 
go around the country and convene meetings, 
by which means I might be enabled to talk 
to the people on my favorite theme of the 
desirability of railroad communication and its 
importance)— one of the auditors upon this oc- 
casion (the meeting being held at Elizabeth- 
town) was one known as Abraham Harnly, a 
very intelligent man, and one of the most active 
in that neighborhood. During the cjurse of 
my remarks I bad happened to say, " I have no 
doubt, gentleman, there are many of yoa pre- 
sent who will live to sea tbe day when a man 
can eat his breakfast at Harrisburg, go to Phil- 
adelphia, (one hundred miles,) fcaka his dinner, 
transact his business there, and return nome to 
Hariisburg in time to go to bed, as osuat, in 
the evening." There was a simultaneous roar 
of laughter from the audience, which had hardly 
ceased when this old man very confidentially 
whispered in my ear, " Simon, I am glad you 
told them about going to Philadelphia and back 
again to Harrisburg in one day, because that 
will make them take the sheers, (shares ) but you 
and I know all about that !" [Liughter] I leave 
you to judge, gentlemen, whether my predic- 
tion was verified. After having proved success- 
ful in my endeavors in behalf of the railroad 
from Harrisburg to Lancaster, I became engaged 
in a project to construct a road from here to 
Ghambersburg ; then again to Baltimore ; then 
again to Sunbury, the place of my bo>hood, and 
also to Reading; ; all of which, I am glad to 
state, are now prosperous and in most suoce«8- 
ful operation. I mention this gentlemen, not 
boastfully, but to show what may be accom- 
plished by a determined will and a right purpose. 
In responding to the sentimentof our worthy 
Mayor my intention, gentlemen, was simply 
to speak to you familiarly as friends and neigh- 
bors, without referring to my control of tba 
War Department, over which I had the honor 
to preside, but in view of a charge recently made 
against me because of my exercise of the dele- 
gated power with which I was entrusted, itniay 
be proper for me to say to you a £357 words ia 
relation thereto. I took a seat last year ia 
Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet against my owa jidg- 
ment; without consulting my taste for the 
position, and, I may say, against my own 
determination. I resigned that post, v;hefl. 
I thought my mission was ended in organ- 
izing, equipping, and supplying, under the 
most adverse circumstances, a larger army 
than had ever been raistd ia the Bamo spaoa of 
time of human histcry. When I did accept the 
place it was with the perfect uaderstanding b{^ 
tweenMr. Lincoln and myself that whenever I 
thought proper to resign should I be privileged 
to do so; and when a vacancy occurred in the ap- 
pointment to Russia, h^ o£(erdd ma the posl^ 



CAMBKON BANQUET. 



and I was glad to accept it. Why, gentlemen. 
I toiled in tkat Department as no man evCT 
toiled before; I haye told you thatin my younger 
years I worked for twenty bonrs out of the 
twenty -four for euccessive months; but that 
labor was nothing in comparison with the 
OTerpoweriDg toil which I underwent at 
Washington. To say nothing of the extra- 
ordinary necessities of the Department, 
arising from an unforseen and threatening na 
tional emergency. The doors of my pri-vate 
dwelling were besieged from daylight to the 
latest boms of the ni^ht ; the department was 
surrounded on all hands, and at all bours. — 
Certain members cf Congress, who figure in 
the vote of censure, were ever besieging 
my doors, and often patiently waiting for hours 
to catch a part of the drippings frcm the War 
Department. Meanwhile I managed the deli- 
cate and trying affairs of my situation as 
wisely as I knew how. Of course I committed 
some errors ; but I did not commit the wrong 
with which I am charged in the resolution of 
Congress. I solemnly assert that neither in 
motive nor deed can I he justly chargeable 
with the commission of any wrong in the ad- 
ministration of those affairs , and I am proud 
to say here in reviewicg my ofiBcial conduct, 
that I see no act which I would not repeat under 
the same circumstances Uion my appoint- 
ment to the position, I fcnnd the depart- 
ment destitute of all the means of defence ; 
without guns, end with little prospect of 
purchasing the materiel of war ; I found the 
nation without an army, and I found scarcely 
a man throughout the whole War Department 
in whom I could put my trust. The Adjutant 
Geneial deserted. The Quartermaster General 
ran oft'. The CommisFary Gpnersl was upon his 
death bed . More than half the clerks were dis- 
loyal. I remember that upon cce occasion 
General Scott came to me apparently in great 
mental tribulation. Said he, "I have spent the 
most miserable day of my life ; a friend of my 
hojhood has just told me I am disgracing my 
eelf by staying here and serving this fragment 
of the government, in place of going to Vir- 
ginia and serving under the banner cf my na- 
tive State ; and I am pained to death." But 
the old hero was patriotic, loyal and wise 
enough to say that his friend was wrong ; and 
he was right in remaining where he was. 

It should be remembered, also, that in those 
days of peril and alarm, an outcry went up 
from all portions of the loyal States, urging 
the GovorEment to procure arms, equipments, 
and supplies, by any means, and at any cost ; 
to disregard the usual routine of contracts ; 
to cut through "red tape," and at the hazard 
of encountering speculators and peculators, 
to prepare itself to meet the immediate 
dangers. Great as were the exertions then 
made, they fell far short ol the demanda of 
the people. The Administration was at that 
time censured for its caution in guarding it- 
»elf against imposition, because such caution 
was an evidence of delay. 



But to proceed. You all remember, gentle- 
men, the day of the President's proclamation 
calling upon the people of Pennsylvania (be- 
cause the demand was made upon you here in 
common with other States) for tioopsto defend 
the national capital. My (on happening to be 
in Washington, I si nl him thiiher with the ut- 
most despatch and a^ked him to appeal to eve- 
ry man he met in this town and through the 
country to send dt wn every soldier who would 
come. . Within three daj s after the issuing of 
the proclamation foor hundred and eighty 
troops from Pennsylvania arrived in Washing- 
ton. They were the first to inspire the gov- 
ernment with hopsj and courage to contend 
with the awful crisis then impending. They 
came there without arms and were lurnished 
/rom the arsenal at that place. Directly 
after this — wiihin two or three days — 
three or four regiments were assembled at 
Cockeysville, Maryland, by my order. At the 
sirrae time a number of bridges on the Philad- 
elphia and Baltimore railroad, via Wilming- 
ton, were burned or destroyed. It was at this 
time that the mob in Baltimore, murdered our 
unarmed soldiers in her streets on their way to 
the defence of the capital, and the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad refused to carry our troops. 
At that time wbtn the loyalty of nesrly all thp 
inhabitants was doubted, Mr. Seward, the 
Secretary of State, in company with the Secre- 
tary ot the Treasury, called tTpon me and said 
"we must have somebody in New York to assist 
the public officers therein collecting and for- 
warding troops," asking me to name any in- 
dtvidual whom I considered, competent for that 
purpose. I was acquainted with but a few people 
in New York, yet after a moment's reflection I 
recollected Mr. Cummings, with whom I had an 
intimacy when he was a cinzen of this State. 
The two gentlemen theninformtdme that they 
had appointed Mr. Cieto, of ihe sub-treasury 
General Dix, now in the army, Mr. Opdyke, 
the present Ma\orof the ciiy of New York, 
and Mr. Blatchf(.rd,ft citizen of New York, and 
as I have stated, k quested me to name kome 
other gentlemen. I gave the name of" Mr. 
Cummings and associated with it that of Gov. 
Morgan of the Sia'e of New York. To show 
how guarded I was in these appointments, I will 
read the order that I gave upon that occasion: 

Depaetiiekt of War, Jpril 23, 1861. 
"In consideration of the extraordinary emer- 
gencies which demand itBmtdiate and decisive 
measures for the pnseivation of ihe national 
capital and the defense of the National Gov- 
ernment, Ibertby autboiize Edwin D. Morgan, 
Governor of the State of New York, and Alex- 
ander Cummif gp, now in the city of New 
York, tomsike hll necessary arrangements for 
the transportaiioti ot troops and munitions of 
war in aid and assistance of the officers of the 
army of the United Siate.^, until communica- 
tion by mail and teb graph is com pletely re- 
established between the cities of Wai^ington 
and New York. Either of them, in case of 



ClUKRON BAKQrST. 



iQability to consult with the other, may exei- 
ciaa the authority hereby given. 

SIMON CAMERON, 
Secretary of War. 

It will be seen that I did not iatrurt those 
gentlemen with the expenditure of any money 
I was careful to give them no authority to act 
independent of the military officers of the gov- 
ernment. Sometime afterwards, I received a 
telegram signed by Messrs. Morgan and Cum- 
mings, asking for authority to draw money, 
which I referred in the ubuaI manner to the 
Treasury Department. That is all I had to do 
with the matter, and at the ead of fourteen 
days, oommuQloation having been restored, 1 
revoked their authority, as will be seen by the 
following note: 

.War Dbtartmbni', Kay 7, 1861. 

Qentlgiceh: — The extraordinary emergency 
which demanded immediate and decisive mea- 
Buree for the preservation of the national capi- 
tal, and the defense of the National Govern- 
ment, rendered it necessary for this Depart- 
ment to adopt extraordinory means for that 
purpose, and having fall confidence in your 
iatelligence,. experience and integrity, you 
were authorized to make all necessary arrange- 
ments for the transportation of troops, &c., in 
aid and assistance of the officers of the army 
of the United States, until the re-establishment . 
of communication, by mails and telegraph, 
between the cities of New York and Washing- 
ton. 

Uninterrupted communication between the 
two cities being now again established, and it 
being desirable that the duties heretofore at- 
tended to by you should be hereafter perform- 
ed by the officers of the army, to whom- they 
properly belong, I beg to tender you the thanks 
of this Depirtment for the very prompt and 
efficient tnanner in which you have discharged 
the duties assigned you, and to request you to 
ceaee making purchases, procure transports, 
or attending to other duties under authority 
given, which could be justified only by the 
emergency now happily, no longer existing. 
Respectfully, yours, 
SIMON CAMERON. 
Gov. E, D. Morgan and Alexander Gammings, 

Esqrs., New York city. 

Now, gentlemen, in regard to the Congres- 
sional cooamittee of investigation of which the 
country has heard so much, I have reason to 
believe that the origin »1 iateation of its 
^ appointment was to control the War Da- 
partment and place money in the pockets of 
its members. The second or third day after 
the aunoaucdment of the committee, its chair- 
man called upon me and desired that I should 
authoriae him to famish a certain regimient 
with arms, munitions, clothing, etc. I refused 
his application, because I thought from my 
knowledge of his character that he was un- 
worthy of a trust. After a further colloquy 
with the chairman, I orderel him out of the 
War Department; and of course I was attacked 
by that coratulttee. 



The committee of investigation have made 
the additional charge upon me in my official 
connection with the government, of having 
bought a greater number of guns than were 
needed. I did order a large number of arms ; 
but I will take this occasion to answer that 
charge. It must be borne in mind that I was 
supplying an army of more than 700,000 men, 
and that the lose of arms in a single cam- 
paign has been estimated by military men to 
reach as high as fifty pur cent. In a glance at the 
statistics I tind that in round numbers I ordered 
nearly a million of muskets, almost one hun- 
dred thousand carbines and perhaps as many 
swords. When I took possession of the War 
Department I found that there were but few 
muskets in the arsenals, no swords of any ac- 
count, and scarcely any munitions of war. — 
Within a short time after the proclamation, it 
became apparent that there was no diffionlty in 
getting troops, but there was great difficulty 
in procuring arms. I found the ordnance de- 
partment without a head ; the person having 
charge there being an old man, who was con- 
ceded by those in whom I had confidence, In- 
cluding Gen. Scott, to be incompetent for the 
duties of the position. I superceded him, and 
put in his place one who was believed to be 
fully competent, but who soon proved in 
the opinion of my associates to ^ unequal 
to the crisis. I felt, personally, reluctant to 
enter into any contract myself, as I had no 
time for such details, and therefore dkected 
Mr. Thomas A. Scott, my assistant, to aot 
in conjunction with Col. Ripley, and tkat 
he stiould 630 that every contrswt was 80 
guarded that, in case of failure at the end of 
thirty days, the contracj should be revoked, 
leaving to Col. Ripley to determine the qual- 
ity and price of the arms to be contracted for. 
At this time Governors of States, officers want- 
ing arms, cabinet ministers, and members of 
Congress were constantly making application 
for arms, charging the Ordinance Dapartmeat 
with inefficiency, stating that if consent were 
given they could be procured, and I therefore 
directed Mr. Scott to act in conjunction with 
Colonel Ripley and to contract with every 
man who was willing to make a musket or 
furnish a sword, and from whom the other 
necessary munitions of war could be obtained, 
at the same time instructing him to see that 
the chief of the ordnance department uhould 
fix the price and datermine the chaiacter of 
the arms. The allygiition has been repeat- 
edly iterated that I made these contracts with 
an eye to personal preference. But I hava 
already proven, gentlemen, that the furthest 
limit of even my official action in the 
matter was simply to order the making of 
such contracts as were necessary, leaving all 
that regarded price or quality in the hands of 
the ordnance department, and to this a'»7. J 
scarcely know any of ttie indiriduals with 
whom contracts were male. ,,. * 

The special contract escitmg public at- 
tention was m.ftde with a party by the name ot 



CAkEROJy SAN^eBT. 



Boker. On the fifth of September, uader cover 
from the President, I received a note, which I 
now read : 

Washington, Sept. 4, 1861. 
Hou, SmoN Cameeon, Secretary of War: 
ia.Sia:— Our resident partner in Europe ad- 
vises us by last steamer of a lot of upwards of 
one hundred thousand stand of arms — rifidd, 
percussion muskets — new and in good eondi- 
tiou— having been placed in iiis control by 
making advances thereon. 

We desire to oQer them to your Department, 
and should it appear to you of sufficient impor- 
tance to secure the immediate deliveiy there 
of 60 large a quantity of good arms, we would 
invito your attention thereto. ' 

4^We offer the arms at a price not exceeding 
(^hkm dollars each, subject to the inspection 
and approval of an armorer whom you shall 
select to accompany our authorized agent. If 
the article is not satisfactory, the Government 
will iccur no expense, and if approved, you 
^1 secure an article much needed. 
' We also control by advances thereon over 
18,000 cavalry sabres, which we offer as above, 
at a price not to exceed $7 60 a piece. 
Yery respectfully, 

Tour obedient servants, 

(Signed) HERMAN BOKER & CO., 

^ 50 Cliff street. New York. 

Also of Liege, Solinger, Remscherd, Birming- 
ham, Bown. 

This was at the time when the Queen s pro- 
clamatioB had prohibited, among other things, 
the exportation of arms to the United States. 
You lemomber, gentlemen, we sent an agent 
(Mr. Schuyler, of " New York,) out to Belgium 
to procure arms for our government. He suc- 
ceeded in purchasing one hundred thousand 
guns ther«, but being unable to ship them all 
directly, he sent a portion to England, where 
(the proclamation to which I have just referred 
being soon after issued) he was prevented from 
trasspoTting or using the arms in any manner. 
In this extremity of the large army of sol- 
diers in and about Washington, not two hun- 
dred thousand of them were armed. Upon the 
lotter I have just read was the endorsement of 
One President in his own hand writing in these 
words: _ • 

" I approve the carrying this through mrefuUy, 
cmiiauihu ofid expdiliously. Avoid conflicls and in- 
Urferance. A. LINCOLN." 

—the literal meaning of the endorsement was 
that the world should not know of our military 
deficiency and weakness until the evil had been 
remedied and that care and caution were to be 
used as heretofore in keeping inviolate the se- 
cret of our defect. Fully coinciding with 
the Pretident, and in obedience to his order, 
I promptly directed this contract to be closed ; 
and I assure you gentlemen, without the arms 
it produced, we should not have been able to 
achieve the lata glorious victories in<the west. 

I may add, in proof of the great anxiety of 
ail to obtain arme, that but a very few days be- 
fore I left the War Department, the 0Abki9t 



agreed to adopt a conditional contract mado 
by Mr. Schuyler for 100,000 guns in Belgium, 
which I successfully opposed on the ground 
that we had guns enough contracted for, and 
with the encouragement which had been af- 
forded to our own manufacturers, the supply , 
would probably be sufficient for our future 
wants. By this means $1,800,000 have beea 
retained in the country to be expended in those 
localities from which our soldiers have volun- 
teered, and this occurred after all those con- 
tracts had been completed, of which so much 
complaint is now made. 

The investigating committee of Congress have 
said that the muskets made at the Sprinfield ar- 
mory cost only $12 apiece. That assertion like 
many others that have been made in connec- 
tion with supplies for the army, is not the fact. 
Without taking into consideration the expense 
of superintendence, the cost ef buildings, ma- 
chinery or capital invested, the mere net cost of 
the gun for labor and material when there is no 
competition in time of peace, has amounted 
•to $12 60. But had those guns purchased oo. 
my order proved to be twice more expensive 
than they actually were, then, in view of 
the fact that the army was practically use- 
less without them, I would have done ex- 
actly as I did with the beef contract, to which 
other gentlemen have seen fit to refer. When 
we expected large arrivals of soldiers from 
Pennsylvania and other States, and there waa 
nothing to feed them with, the Acting Com- 
missary General came to me and said, ' 'I can 
now buy two thousand beeves if I pay two or 
three cents a pound more than they should be 
worth." 

"Well, I replied," "pay it," (applaose) — 
' 'pay a dollar per pound rather than a soldier 
should suffer, but be guarded that your contract 
ceases when a supply can be had at the custom- 
ary price" — which was done. He made a con- 
tract for two thousand beeves, and the whole 
world rung with the announcement that the Se- 
cret«7 of War had cheated the government in 
order to enrich some favorite, and yet the con- 
tract was made with my personal enemies. So, 
again, I was censured at the time of the battle 
of Boll's Run for not having sufficient cavalry 
in the field. Yet I could not speak in my own 
defence, for the safety of the government com- 
pelled me to silence. Plenty of horsemen 
offered their services ; but I had no pis- 
tols, swords or carbines to give them ; and I 
did not want the world to know that such was 
our condition. My function was to raise an 
army of the largest kind in the shortest possi- 
ble time, and to supply them with whatever 
needful material I could first lay hands upon. 
As soon as I could obtain pistols, carbineff, 
swords and holsters, I had cavalry enough. 
But then the cry was "he has got too many." 
Gf course, then again I was chealing the povem- 
msnt, by giving my friends all the horse con- 
tracts. [Laughter.] Well, Mr. Mayor, the 
horses have been in the serviceand the coantry 
hafl been saved. Those who then cried "no 



CAMBBOK BANiQUB*. 



more horses," to-day can «ee advertisementB 
for the purchase of ao increased number ; and 
to-day I saw aJsu a published advertisement 
asking for proposals to furnish more muskets. 

Had the material resources of the government 
Tbeen, in any manner, commensurate with the 
emergency, the war would have been termi- 
aated 'ere this. So far as concern; myself, I 
would rather have had a million of guns too 
many than that, a single soldier in any of 
our battles should have been sacrificed for the 
want of a weapon. I suppose that had I been 
the willing tool of every man who wanted 
to rob the gpvernment, and if in place 
of attending to my duties, I had been content 
to receive men at my house and treat them to 
the hospitalities of my social and political posi- 
tion, Of allowed them to control me in the 
discharge of my duties, those men who now at- 
tempt to slander me would still be most profuse 
in compliment afld profession. More than this, 
had I remained in the War Department until 
this vote came off, I should doubtless have re- 
ceived the compliment paid to my late aud es- 
teemed colleague. Mr. Welles. [Laughter] He 
was charged withhaving improperly etoployed a 
man to purchase ships ; yet the House of Rep- 
resentatives voted down a resolution to censure 
him by about the same vote that they cen- 
sured me for having secured the services of an 
employee. Mr. Welles obtained the assistance 
referred to long after the excitement and con- 
fusion attending the commencement of the 
rebellion had ceased, I did so at a time when 
the country was almost totaliy bereft of a 
government, and when we didnot know whom 
to trust. • 

Wow, gentlemen, I could narrate to you in 
this way many incidents of official connection 
with the War Department. Were it necessary 
I would give you some particulars connected 
with the history of this man Dawes, who appears 
to be most active in the persecution against 
me. I understand he is a little prosecuting 
attorney living some where in Massachusetts. 
l am well aware of the real cause of his enmity, 
and I will briefly state it. Some people of 
Massachusetts, especially about the good city 
of Boston, own nearly all the stock in the Wil- 
mington and Baltimore railroad. Notwith- 
atandiogthat road has accumulated more money 
on account of this war, by the transportation of 
troops and war material for the government, 
than it ever did before ia double the length of 
time ; (which fact was chiefly owing to the con- 
fid nee I entertained in its President,) yet the 
management of the road were displeased be- 
cause they woold not have an entire monpo- 
ly of the Government business. When tbe 
bridges on the Wilmington find Baltimore [ 
road were burned, it became absolutely ne- 
cessary to construct a new line of travel to 
Washington. By my direction, the Presi- 
dent of the Pennsj Ivania railroad, Mr. Thomp- 
son, in connection with the Wilmington 
road, made arrangements to run a line of ; 
boats from Poriyville to Annapolis, and sue- ( 



ceeded in getting the project into successful ope 
ration. This new route was used until the Bal 
timore and Ohio road was taken possession of by 
me for the government, and until the bridges 
of the Wilmington road were rebuilt. In the 
meantime, an arrangement was made with the 
Hirrisburg, Reading and New Jersey roads, to 
reduce the fare from six to four dol iars from New 
York to Baltimore, per soldier. Bug my action 
in this matter tooli monoy out of tf^^ purses of 
gentlemea in Bostjn, and Mr, Dawes, who ap- 
peared to represant the interests affcjcted, be- 
cime my enemy. This is the only reason for 
his opposition of which I am aware. I do not 
know him further thaxi that he was frequently 
hanging about the War Departtnent in common 
wifli otuer applicants for special favors. Hay- 
ing my whole timt occupied iu preparing an 
army out of raw and undisciplinucl soldiers, of 
course I may have run counter to the "esires of 
such gentlemen, and conseqaently, they now 
return the disfavor 

This theme is by no means a pleasant one for 
me; but after llie recent wrong which has beea 
done me I felt that, when talking to my old 
friends and neighbors I would do my.salf the 
simple justice to speak plainly. It would be 
ceedless for me to attempt to onvince you of 
my honesty of purpose and intention in every 
official act of my life. I am known to you 
personally, and I feel witling to abide by, and 
will fully appreciate your decision upon my 
character as your fellow citiz.n. [Great ap- 
plause.] 

I leave you with great reluctance. It has 
been the dream of my life to go abroad in soma 
position that woold enable ihe to catch a 
proper glimpse of the beauty and grandeur of 
the old world ; but as the time draws near 
when I shall bid you a parting adieu, I approach 
it with the pain caused by the separatian from 
old and dear friends. 

Perhaps I have said enough— it may 
be too much. I desire to stats to you, 
however, that my relations with the President 
have been and still are of the most cordial 
character. I ente.tain as gre*t a respect for 
him as for any one with whom I hive ever 
been associated. He is an honest, h}2;h-minded 
gentleman, as well as a fditbfol public officer, 
(A-pplause.) 

This rebellion will be ended after a while, and 
with it we will end the cause of this and all fa* 
ture internal strife, as I hope. (Great applause.) 
I have never he:m an abolitionist. • I am not ©ne 
now. But if I had the power, I would call into 
the field every man able to shoulder a musket, 
whether he be white or black, that this war 
might be brought to a speedy and certain close. 
And I believe we will come to that. I do i xt 
believe that, after a while, when tha hot 
Southern climate is killing our soldiers who 
are fighting for the government, our people 
will be content to eee their sons and brotherB 
die, when men acclimated to the South are able 
to defend the country, and of thtir own 
etrenglh and will, to drive all the rebels oat of 



10 



CAMERON BANQUET. 



thd land. [Applause.] There cannot be a 
doubt aboat how tbia slavery qnestion is to be 
settled in the end. But, so far as I am con- 
cerned, I am willing to leave its disposal to the 
Great Euler above. I wovdd not punish the 
deluded rank and file after they have laid 
down their arms ; I would not harm one 
hair on the head of a single individual who 
was enticed or seduced upon misrepresentaiioD 
to join the rebel army ; but had I the leaders, 
I would do with them as I said I .vould do witb 
the Mayor of Baltimore when he asked the 
President to send back the national troops 
from Cockeysville, and not allow them to 
pass through Baltimore. I saia "let me 
alone, and I will hang him and his whole posse 
upon the trees aronnd the War Department." 
Had I been allowed to do so, our troops 
would never have been impeded in their march 
through that city, and by such a course the 
rebellion would now have been crushed. Such 
are my opinions on that qnestion, which, per- 
haps, I sometimes express unwisely for my own 
good ; and this is another reason for the 
passage of the resolution to which I alluded. 
Every border State Representative who thinks 
his brother or son or kindred in the rebel ranks 
' does cot deserve hanging for his treason, voted 
in favor of that resolution. 

[After a short pause Gen. Cameron concluded 
as follows:] 

Gentlemen, this is a contest in which we all 
have a direct interest. Pennsylvania has a 
moral power which no other State in this Union 
possesses ; and therefore every citizen of Penn- 
sylvania can do a great deal towards bringing 
this war to an end. I have no right to give 
advice, but I shall be glad, in leavingthe coun- 
try, to believe there is to be no party here but 
the party of the country — the party for the war 
and in favor of supporting the Administration 
in conducting the war ; because whether men 
were.opposed to Mr. Lincoln or otherwise, by his 
administration alcne is the war to be conducted. 
If Pennsylvania will stand by his wise and pa- 
triotic measures, she can aid the President and 
control the result. I remember that in the 
war of 1812 every man who opposed the war 
was considered an enemy of his country. I 
trust that the same beneficial role will be ap- 
plied in the present case. [Applause.] If we 
falter in patriotic devotion, the people of the 
south will be encouraged to persevere in their 
rebellious arid infamous design; for the war 
can only be ended by a determined and united 
policy here in the north. Why, it was only 
the other day that a letter was seen from the 
wife of the traitor Davis, seating that "Jeff, 
was cruelly deceived in Pecnsjlvania and New 
York, where he expected the support of half 
the people, because he was led to believe 
more than one half of the people in both of 
these States were going to join tim." That is 
the current delusion in the Sooth ; and so 
long as we give theoji aid and comfort by divi- 
sions among ourselves, just so long will they 
be encouraged to fight the goveiumttat. Let 



us all, with one heart, looking solely to bt| 
'coe object, go through this war ; and that be: 
ing over, we caVi rake up the uld political can 
casses ot days gone by, and again attack eacl 
other with all the spirit of Whig and Demc 
cratic fury. In the first place, lei ns finish (Aj 
war. [Long continued applause] Short as th 
interval is before my departure, I confident! 
expect to be able to carry with me the news c 
further vital successes, which will prove to th 
powers of Europe that the Uuion is safe, ani 
that the redemption of the nation is drawini 
nigh, and is even now at hand. 

In answer to repeated calls, Eobert A. Lam 
berton, Esq., addressed the audience 38 followej 

Mr. Mator. It gives me pleasure to responj 
to such a call upon such an occasion. If 
sixteen years unbroken friendship with our diij 
tinguished guest enables me to know anythin 
of his mind and heart, this I surely knovi 
that wherever he may go, this evening will 1: 
a very pleasant memory to him, and whatev^ 
years may yet be allotted to him— and ma 
they be many — he willne»er forget this gathei 
ing of his friends and neighbors. And why; 
Because he can appreciate at its full worth th 
manifestation of the confidence he enjoys am 
the esteem in which he is held by those amom 
whom his life has been spent. However fiercti 
ly he may be maligned by those who know his 
least, he will remember with pleasure that the 
who know him best neither doubt nor foreak| 
him. [Applause.] 

There is, perhaps, no surer test of charactei 
of what a man really is than the deliberate, we 
considered judgment* foimed of him by h 
home people, those among whom all the day 
of his manhood have^been passed and wit 
whom he has been associated socially and i 
bueinefs. Here, then, have eome togethe- 
alike irrespective of party ti._ or partizan affi 
ation, the old man with hi. experience and ti 
ycuug man with his hopes, the neighbors an' 
the immediate fellow citizens of our honore« 
guest, to give a clear, distinct and emphatiti 
utterance of their belief in his integrity as i 
man, his usefulness as a member ot our com 
munity and his fidelity to his convictions o 
duty when in official position. There, sitting 
by his side, as he has just told us, is the friem 
of his earlier and later years — one of the verj 
few left among us who has known him from th< 
day the orphaned boy, seeking work, came t< 
our capital, though poanilees, yet with th< 
stout heart of a man, to enter upon the battle 
of life. There is the friend tt a lifetime, whost 
confidence has been unshaken during all the 
years that have elapsed since he who is become 
the Bepresentative of our Government, t^ 
stand in the court of ti.e Cut, was the humbl 
printer boy. We are all here, on the eve c 
the departure of our friend and fellow ciliuen, 
to bid him the good-bye and wish him the 
God speed. [Applause.] 

Sir, ha has referred to the malignant e«saalti^ 
which have been made against him by his ene-} 
mies. Thus surrounded by his neighbors who 



CAMERON BANQUET, 



11 



know bim, the shafts fall hurtless at his feet. 
Whea he is gone these cruel blows may still be 
aimed at hioi; but they will not ryachfhim : 
he leaves too uiaay friends, who will not snffcr 
the abseni to be wronged. Wb' a he returns, 
ho will show that he possesses abundant ability 
to take careof himself and fighthis own battles. 
[Applause ] He has been bitterly followed bv his 
enemies ; he has been cl< se y surrounded by 
his frieods. And this is always so with the de- 
cided, energetic resolute man. The positive 
man in life who coutinually presses forward Id 
the struggle with the world must, in his pro- 
gress, come in contact with and pass over those 
who are in his way. Suah a one wins devote i 
friends and makes carping ecemies. 
" But, sir, whilst we will not forget the true- 
hearted, open-handed friend and citizen, he is 
eminently entitled to our regard as a Penns^- 
vanian. To whatever dt-ptbs of baseness his 
vilifiera have descended, no one of them that 
I can now remember has been so false as to 
challenge or doubt the devotion of Gen. Cam- 
eron to the interests of our own Common- 
wealth. , Devoted to the Union of our fatberH, 
he was always a Penosylvanian for Pennsyl- 
vania — Pennsylvania in and of-the Union. He 
has ever exhibited a just pride in her va&t re- 
sources, her inexhaustible store house of min- 
erals, her manufactures, her farms, her schools 
and her churches ; and moved by ttiis ptide 
and his inextinguishable love of home, he has 
sought, both in private life and official station, 
to advance her prosperity and pr' mote hej- 
greatness. As Pennsylvanians we honor him. 
[Applause ] 

And now, sir, let him go away assured that 
as the loyalty and. truth of Pennsylvania have 
beea in the past, so will they continue. From 
within our borders shall go f«rth no uncertain 
sound as to the suppression of the infamous re- 
bellion convulsing the land. P(!nn6ylvAniaha-; 
given more than a hundred thon.=and of hirr 
children as a free will offering on behalf of the 
maintenance of our government. Her arm^ 
has gone with the stern and fixed resolution 
that the Union shall be preserved, treason 
crushed oat, and traitors brought to the rope. 
Our guest has mentioned a remark recently 
made to him by a lady friend of the head of 
the psetido government of the Confederate 
States, that Jt flterson Davis believed that the 
one-half of the men of Pennsylvania and New 
York would be with him and his fellow conspi- 
rators in the disruption of the Union. Upon 
what a foundation of sand did the arch traitor 
build bis hopes ! How little did he understaod 
the people of the Keystone and Empire 
States! Why, sir, in their truth and honest 
frankness, they could not believe that men- 
Senators sworn to support the Constitution (!) 
could be so perjured as to raise the 
bloody hand against it and against our 
good government. But Sumter awakened 
them. When the dastardly assault was made 
by armedthousandsupon that little half-starved 
garrison, and the aational emblem was sub- \ 



JKcted to villian us iosult, then it was that the 
North becfime aroused as a strong man from 
his sleep, and Pennsylvania ind New York.like 
giants linked arms and rcished forward to the 
dt fence of toe capital and the life of the nation. 
Let us all take courage ; the heioous crime of 
treason will speedily he punished— let our 
guest, and all of us remember, whilst the blood 
of our brethren— of kis brethren—is crying aloud 
from the ground to Him who rules in the hosts 
of Heaven, and upon earth, tliat He has said 
"Vengeance is mine " That veogeauce is mo- 
ving forward and Southward like a pillar of 
fire b> night, at the head of our armies. It is 
moving with tbe grandeur and sublimity of the 
storm in its wrath. Already the wail of the 
detiponderit rebel is heard. 'Even now the key 
of the 14:issisB;ppi valley is ours ; the old flag 
flies in triumph over the Crescent city, and 
soon the great North-west will again have ac- 
cess through its freed aud opened channel to 
the gulf. [Applause.] 

Let, then, the minister to Russia depart with 
fresh hope and renewed faith. Let him, when 
away over the waters and across another conti- 
nent, as he stands near the Emperor of the 
Riissias, that firm and fast friend of onr 
nation, assure that sovereign that our people 
are as one man ic their devotion to the Union 
in this baptism of blood through which they 
are p'ssiog, and that they will sweep from the 

face of the earth the traitor and his treason. • 

Let him be assured that ow government will. 
pass through the fiery ordeil and come forth 
purer, better and stronger than ever. FAp- 
nlause.] ^ 

And, sir, let us now say to our friend and 
guest that he bears with bi;u our wishe:j for his 
prosperity and success in his mission. Whilst 
he is gone he will hear of the advance of our 
arms and of the valor of the sons of Pennsyl- 
vania. Already written upon the banners 
borna in front of the regiments of our State are 
names indicative of brave and brilliant deeds 
Already we may there read of Drainesville Ec- 
anoke, Winchester, Falmouth and Shiloh 'fAn. 
plause.] When he returns, may it be to meet 
these same soldiers returned from the battle 
fields, once more having resumed the avocations 
of peace. May he then learn f-om them how the 
same flags have been planted over Yorktown— 
how they have gleamed above the rebel capitol 
at Eichmoud, waved from the spires of Mont- 
gomery and floated again at Sumter, and over 
that nest of treason and traitors, accursed Cha- 
rleston. [Applause] Let him come home, to real- 
ize that agam,every where, from our most north- ' 
erly limit to the Gulf, from the wild Atlantic 
away off to the slopes of the Pacific, the brave 
old flag 18 honored and respected— its stripes 
woomg the evening winds, and its stars an- 
swering back the light of the stars in the 
firmament. May he return to live once moro 
among m, and to realize that our people are 
true to their history, worthy of their fathers 
and that, under the smile of the Omnipotent' 



it 



OAifflRON l^AhfQEraX. 



they huve made oar Union as imperishable as 
the everlasiing hills. [Applause.] 

Hon. Thomas E. Cochran, -Auditor General 
of the 8t:^te, was then loudly called for. He 
rose and said : 

Mr Mayor: — While it does me unfeigiied 
pleasure torespoad to the call thut has just bt en 
made, I may say it is altogether unexpictad. 
I was not even aware of tbe entertainment that 
was proposed, and only arrived in Harrisburg 
at an hour quite late, when, upoa being iovited | 
to como tjeje, I came with gr at pleasure. I 
lecogniz-d in Ihe gentleman whom you and 
citizens of Harrisburg have here ussembled to 
honor, one who has well maiotained an emi- 
Qent position ia the history of our State and oU 
our country. I recognized in the name of Gen- 
eral Cameron that of a citizen, who, in public 
life, has been always remarkable for the inte- 
rest he has taken in every project or measure 
of public policy calculated to improve the con- 
dition of tbe Comtnonwealth, to lift her in the 
scale of hitter States, and to make her piomi- 
nent. iuflneDthil and powerful in the Union, 
which we ail so love And it is eminently fit 
that, after having passed so many years of his 
life bere in his native State, when he is about 
for the first time to voyage over the ocean sur- 
ges, and to spend some years in an honorable 
and conspicuous position at a foreign court, that 
his fellow citizeus, wLo have know him long 
and well, should meet arouiid this board to 
testify in the emphatic terms expressed by the 
gentleman who has just taken his seat, their 
confidence in his integrity, his character, and 
their respect for the public services he has ren- 
dered to the country. 

Now, sir, it does not become me to speak of 
the individoal in tbe terms which you here in 
Harrisburg may well use, for although I have 
been for many years familiar with the name, yet 
I cannot pretend to have enjoyed thai familiar 
intimacy v?ith the distinguished guest of the 
evening which would authorize me to speak of 
those personal qualities that have just elicited 
such decided marks of approbation.- I may, 
however, as a citizen of this Commonwealth, 
(one who has lived in it the largest portion of 
his lit'i,} submit my testimopy that on all oc- 
oaeiouB when the interests of the State were 
involved, throughout the public Cireer of the 
gentleman who is now about to leave us, he 
has bor je in mind as his cardmal object the 
prosperity and welfare of Pennsylvania 
first, but Ptnn^jlvania not superior to 
the great national interests of the coun- 
try. Pennsylvania as nearest to hia heart, 
which was large enough to embrace the welfare 
and the good of the whole nation. [Applause.] 
And, sir, whatever detractors may say, and 
bowever certain men may be willing at this 
season, when the diverse and minute parte of 
the governmental machinery have assumed a 
certain regular position and operation — what- 
ever ditraotors may say about the transactions 
of different bureaus dtuing the early part of 



the confusion and disseverance of affairs con- 
nected with the outbreak of this rebellion, yet 
it must be borne in mi..d by every candid and 
fair man that that great emergency came upon 
a country wh( lly unprepared to meet such a 
grave and overwhelming issue as was presented 
to it at that time. That is no fair charity 
which will permit any man to scan with an eye 
to censure measure.^ taken in that very great 
emergency as he would scan them, very pro- 
perly and justly, under circumstances of a very 
different character. Now, sir, we know how 
we were in Pennsylvania, we all must be con- 
scious of the situation of this Stale at that time: 
we had no military organization bere, we 
were without exptrieuce in military matters 
,and had to do everything on the pressure'of 
the moment, and that, too, when the enemy — 
the rebels — were thundering at the very gates 
of the national capitol. Was it possible for our 
State government, without experience— was it 
possible for us, without organization — was it 
poe&ible for us, without the men and the means 
at our command, to mske all needful aud in*- 
dispensabln arrangements and preparations, 
just according to the red tape formalities, which 
were customary in the government at ordinary 
times, when the nation needed no army but a 
skeleton, to maiutain the peace throushout 
every section ot our great Union ? Why, sir, 
it is perfectly absurd for men to stand up at 
this day and attempt to criticise, with a censo- 
rious eye, measures taken in tbe very extremi- 
ty of the national life, when it was at the point 
of death. I say, sir, there is great iDJuetice 
involved in any ce^isure of that kind, because 
of transactions criticised under the circum- 
stances that I have stated. It is an appeal to 
the common sense, the fair judgment aod the 
candor of every man who is willing to look at 
the matter fairly ai^d without prejudice — 
it is a fair appeal to all tha? is just 
and right, which authorizes as to say 
that no such censure is proper, and to fore- 
see that no such cenfure will be sustained by 
the honest, the fair and the candid judga.ent of 
the people of this country. [Increased ap- 
plause.] I do not know what selfish or im- 
proper motives may lie at the foundation of the 
recent hostility to Gen. Cameron, but I cer- 
tainly do judge from the results that it could 
not have emanated from a proper and judicious 
discrimination, or a fair comprehension of the 
state of things which existed, and which I have 
attempted to describe, during Gen. Cameron's 
adminifitratioaof the War Depaitirent. I may 
be permitted to say without vain boas'ing, but 
^mply as a citizen of Pennsylvania, that after 
a period of doubt — a time during which there 
were grave suspicions entertained in regard to 
official operations here in this State — now, at 
this time, in the judgment of the government 
at Washington the affairs of Pennsylvania are 
admitted to have been managed with greater 
care and economy, and with greater prudence 
• than probably any other State in the Union, in 
coJiQection with this war. Well now, sir, I t^|y 



CAMEHOK BANQUET. 



13 



it knowingly, for I had an official relation with 
this matter, that I do not believe there was a man 
connected with the operations of this State who 
possessed that practicsU knowledge and neces- 
sary diill which would enable him to discharge 
those onerous and unexpected duties pertaining 
to military matters according t ) discipline and 
rule, or without making some mistakes. Yet 
they were discharged tally and judiciously. The 
single ohj :Ct was to promote the good of the 
country, and the result has been that Pennsyl- 
vaoia stands higher, I apprehend, in the esti- 
mation of the Government a^ Washington th n 
any other State in this Union. The gentleuian 
in front of me nods assent to that. Well, now, 
if that is so, why not apply the same rule to 
the conduct of operations on the part of the 
General Government as you would apply to 
aflfairs in Pennsylvania ? I know, and I am 
willing to state here as an individual, that mis- 
takes were made in certain departments of 
Pennsylvania, and there may have been mis- 
takes made in the governmental departments 
at Washington ; but those mistakes were 
such as any man might make in the prosecu- 
tion of his business. 

Gen. Cameron. If the gentleman will allow 

me to interrupt him, I will say now what I 

have had occasion to state already. I have 

l^reviewed my course since leaving the War 

1 Department, and upon careful consideration, I 

' am free to state that during my ofliclal career 

in the management of that Department, I did 

not commit a single act which I would not do 

again under the same circumstances. 

Mr. Cochran. I have not the slightest doubt 
of it. I have not the slightest doubt that every 
measure or action undertaken by Gen. Came- 
ron was essential, at the time and under the 
circumstances, tor the welfare of the country. 
That was the point of my argument, for I am 
speaking argumentatively. Under different 
circumstances, the aspect of the case might he 
totally different, and Gen. Cameron would not 
have done what he did ; but we must take into 
consideration the circumstances existing at 
the time, and base our conclusions upon those 
surroundings. 

But I have dilated more amply on that sub- 
ject than I had any expectation of doing when 
unexpectedly called upon. I am very glad to 
see that the time has come when the people 
of Harrisburg have gathered around a citizen 
whom for many years they have had reason to 
respect, and who, when he is about to bid fare- 
well, they are glad to assemble here to bid 
God speed. I hope the time will coafte when 
this country will be restored in all its integrity 
and prosperity to the full enjoyment of those 
blessings and privileges which, under the 
Divine Providence, have been handed down 
to us by our fathers, and I hope that when the 
gentleman who is the recipient of our farewell 
greeting this evening shall return to this 
coQQtry he will retain to a re-uaited and uq. 



broken union, where every American citizen 
will recognize every other American citizen 
as a brother and as an equal ; and where, 
from one end of this great Union to the other, 
as it was constituted under the auspices of the 
great men who have preceded our generation, 
he shall find the same old flag flying, and the 
same institutions existing. And I trust that 
in that day not only shall he find these to 
exist, but that he shall return here when our 
affairs, socially and politically, are restored to 
their ancient basis, and ourselves glad to greet 
him on his return to a country which he will 
no doubt faithfully serve in that quarter to 
which he is now delegated, as he heretofore 
served it in other official positions. 

Hon. Judge Pearso.v was next called tO! and 
spoke as follows : 

Mr. Mayor, I have not recently been addicted 
to anything like public speaking ; but there 
are some matters to whicu I would call your 
attention for a moment. We ought not only 
to consider the present situation nf affiiie in 
judging of a man's actioiis, but also the cir- 
cumstances previously connected therewith. 
My friend across the tabl-^ was called upon to 
preside in the War Department at a time when 
it was in the most distracted ovinditiou. No 
previous preparation of any charucter Lad been 
made for wagina: war or defending the country ; 
he was called upon in an ■extreme emergency ; 
and now at the distance of many months, when 
our army <e efficient and our navy triple its 
former standing in strength and cfliciency, we 
should consider the actions of the depirtments 
of the government at Washington wbolly in 
view of the means at their coiumaod. At that 
time preparations were making by thi lebelB 
for attacking Washington city, yet iha nation 
was without an army at the National Capital, 
and with but limited means of bringing goldiers 
upon the ground. The vaiious depirtments of 
government were filled with disloyal ( lerke and 
rebel sympathisers who were awaitiQ:^ an op- 
portunity to do all f bey pissibly could do in 
aid of the rebellion. Especially were these men 
to he found in the War Department ; und when 
Gen. Cameron took the chair of Secrafary of 
War; having no confidence in his su! ordinates, 
he was required to employ agents whom ho 
could trust. At this time, when viverything 
has changed, it would appear that men have 
C'^asfid to consider the extraordinary posture of 
ffaira that then existed, and proc ed to pass 
judgment upon his actions as coolly as though 
he had no pressing emergencies and overwhelm- 
ing responsib'iliticB to meet, and as though he 
had been able as was the present Secretary of 
War to send twenty or forty thousand soldiere 
to one point, and a like number to another, 
Gen. Cameron with difficulty obtained fifty 
men to defend the capital. 

Judge Pearson further referred to'the difltU 
culty experienced by the War Department ia 
orgaaizing and equipping a large army, in pio= 



14 



CAMERON BANQUET. 



onring means of transportation for the troops, 
etc. Yet in that most perilous times the gov- 
ornment bad been accused of negligence, not 
to say corruption in the filling of contracts for 
the sustenance of the army. This State ad- 
ministration was not long since an object of 
censure for the indiscreet appliance of certain 
funds in clothing and arming her soldiers ; but 
a patient consideration of the circumstances 
attending the operations of the State Executive 
and his officers had convinced the people that 
all charges of impropriety were groundless. 
Such was the case with Gen. Cameron. Had 
the movers and supporters of the resolution 
recently passed by Congress understood the 
motives and objects of the Secretary of War, 
or viewed them from the proper stand point, 
they would have at least hesitated to pass cen- 
sure upon Lis official acts. That gentleman 
could at least console himsflf with the reflec- 
tion that no one of his ;i( qnaiutances or those 
who kuew him wi uld prett-nd to nay he had 
ever been found other than true to hie country, 
faithful to the interesth < f his State aud dear 
to his friends. [Great applause ] 

Mr. Daved Flbminq theu responded to the 
call as follows: 

Mr. Mayor: After the able speecbea you 
have beard, I shall not undert ike to say tnore 
than a few words, espeiially with my present 
feeble voice. I merely desire to bear my tes- 
timony from the observations I have made as, a 
private citizen, of the integrity and ability wiih 
which our distinguished friend has managtd 
the affairs of the War Dopartment during the 
time of Lis adminietration. As has been said by 
thedistinguiebed gentleman who just preceded 
tat, we must look at tbings from the proper 
stand point. Now, I remember very well that 
just alter this rebellion broke oat, that honor- 
able gtntltman, (Judge Pearson,) who is not 
likely to be moved by anything like, sudden 
distuib.iDces, was then so much moved that, 
contrary to every principle of his nature, he 
was willing to connive at the selling of liquor on the 
SaJbbath in this town. [Laughter !] . 

Now, sir, when that is the cafe we do ncJt 
want auy thing to conviuce us of the state of af- 
fairs at that lime. No man cjuld then safely 
prediit that w^ would have a government to- 
day ; uo man knew who of his neighbors was 
faithful tg the government. Here were soldiers 
comiug and going without arms and without 
the likelihood of obtaining them at Washing- 
ton. There was Gen. Cameron in the War De- 
partment required to find money and arms 
without any assurance of obtaiaiug either. I 
think it was only the providence of God that 
placed a man of his energy, business and in- 
dustry at the head of the War Department, in- 
stead of a man whose hsnds h^ve been tied up 
with "red tape" ad his life, and who might not 
be willing to undertake such a leeponsibility 
without the usual red tape formality. I repeat, 
gentlemen, my firm belief that the appointment 
of Gen. Oameren was providential ; for certainly 



history does not exhibit an instance of any man 
who has performed the same labor and brought 
about the same results within the same length 
of time. 

But in regard to what has been done by C!on- 
gress, I have only to say that the advocates of 
the resolution of censure upon General Cameron 
are men who know but little about him. H« 
was where he could do longer serve them, and 
I suppose they acted on the principlf that a 
"livicg dog is better than a dead lion." As I 
did not intend to make a speech, being called 
upon, I have said thus much for our distin- 
guished Iriend ; and, when he goes to Europe, 
I say "God speed" to him, and hope that upon 
returning he will find our country happy, uni- 
ttd !ind invincible. 

Mr. Charles F Muench then made some re- 
marks referring to the buyhood days of General 
Cameron und himself. He said that General 
Cameron had ever been his friend and protector, 
through whose pecuuiary aid he was enabled to 
start a printing office in this town, and for 
whose assistance upon many occasious he felt 
extremely grateful. The speaker alluded to 
bis declining heal'h, and that it was with diffi- 
culty he could leave his home; but he could 
not forego the pleasure of again meeting hia 
old friend, and assuring him of <he gratitude 
and friendship which would continue through 
life. 

Col. A. J. Here, District Attorney of the 
county, was the next speaker. He said: 

Mr. Mayor, I do not feel disposed to respond 
to the call, becaiise the sentiment which was 
just announced by my elderly friend, Mr. 
Muench, has stirred an emotion in my heart 
which I think ought to be expressed. It is 
simply this, that if I had my choice as to what 
sijould be engraven upon my tombstone after 
death, of all high sounding praise or lettered 
sentenced, I would prefer to have simply this: 
"Here lies the poor niau's friend." (Applause.) 
When it happens that such an eulogy should be 
uttered of a living map, in the presence of re- 
spectable and intelligent citizens, I think it iB 
the highest meed of praise that one man can 
bestow upon another. 

Well, now, Mr. Mayor, we are all here aa 
friends and citizens, gathered together solely 
for the purpo^ of testifying our respect and 
e.steem for a pbilanthiopistaud a statesman. The 
motive is c rrect. It is one in which we cannot 
too frequently iodulgt — and one which, when 
indulged, invariably give*i encouragement to 
merit and genius in every department oi life. 
If is this de«ire to win the applause of their fel- 
low men which gives energy and encourage- 
ment to the toiling young ; and every good 
motive that finds an utterance in its execution 
generates like motives in the breasts of others. 
Now, thi n, what position does General Came- 
ron occupy in our midst ? He is a man who 
was raised among us, and who has been con- 
nected with many of the internal improvemebfai 
of this town and county. He has shown by hia 



CAMKRON BANQUBT. 



1& 



gy and public spirit that he is possessed of 
a true principles that go to make a great 
good man ; and we of Pennsylvania — of 
county especially — are to-day the uacon- 
18 gloaaers of the harTest which was sown 
ttly tLrough the instrumentality of his 
gy an i wise foresight. For what are we 
Indebted to these railroads, which he la- 
id so earnestly to buiid ? They are bringing 
IS the comforts, conveniences and wealth 
i make our homes happy. We are indebted 
ur friend and fellow citiaen for the prosper- 
of our city and all the appliances of the 
road system. What, though he was the 
ouscious instrument of securing this great 
efifc to a community— what though he did 
know of the responsible and truly impor- 
t position— he lives now, in the Providence 
3rod, to hear it said that to him we owe, to a 
lain extent, the prosperity of this State. — 
it certainly is a matter of which he should 
proud (Applause.) 

recolect it was bnt a few days ago that an 

man in this town was lying upon a bed of 

caees. He thought his days were numbered 

I that his time had come, and naturally for 

old man his mind reverted back to his early 

8, and how well do I remember the eloquent 

rs that spoke from his eyes when he referred 

the goodness and kindness always shown him 

Gen. Simon Cameron, and said he, '"for all 

it I have been worth through life I am in- 

)ted to the encouraging help of that friend." 

at man talked thus when he had but little 

pe of ever rising from his bed of sickness ; 

he has been spared to be here and speak for 

nself, and be has told us what he said to 

self in his sick chamber. It is a matter of 

ktification in my own mind to have heard 

a use the expression that General Cameron 

3 the poor man's friend, and m6re particu- . 

!y is it gratifying to all of us here, when we 

ow it is the honest expression of an honest 

«t, 

(Veil, now, Mr. Mayor, who can fail to recall 

his micid many little instances he has heard 

lerein our guest has extended a like helping 

nd to other poor men ? Is there oue here 

10 can truthfully assert that within his know- 

, General Cameron ever add, be ye cloth- 

, or be ye warmed, and yet did not give that 

lich was needful for the poor ? Can any one 

1 me that any deserving person in poverty 

ever besought our guest and friend for 

lip without receiving that help ? It is true 

at the greatest compliment thai can be paid 

him, or that can be paid to any one of us, 

aving aside all intellectual pride, is just sim- 

y that of "tLie poor man's friend." 

General Cameron has filled many public 

(sitions in life. He has been entrusted by the 

tiaens of this Commonwealth with many of- 

)es of trust, in all of which he has discharged 

18 duty faithfully. Yet he has been assailed 

id ruthlessly attacked. What is his crime ? 

'^hy, Mr. Mayor, is it not a fact undisputed 

li m old as the hills, that no vijctuo ever [ 



\ yet raised its humble bead, which calamnjr 
did not attempt to hiss to the earth. As iu 
social life so it is in politics. Let a man rise 
but a step above the herd and a pack of hounda 
are upon his track to bring him down. Oi 
course in some cases the political opponents or 
personal enemies of a man are actuated by thoso 
high toned motives that lead men to recogniM 
merit wherever it may be ; but it has not been 
the fortune of our friend to be so treated. Ha 
has felt the sneer and scorn of^ his assailants, 
yet, at the same time, with an endurance that 
wins our applause and admiration; and he now 
stands completely vindicated. ..[Applause.] I 
believS that is our sentiment, that whatever 
may have been the motives of the men who 
stait.d the resolution in Congress, whatever 
may have been the character of the men who 
advocated its passage, still in our own midst, 
where he has lived longest and is understood 
the best, we must in justice say, he stands ac- 
quitted with the assurance of our approbitioa 
of his course, with the assurance he must feel 
himself, and better than all earthly considera- 
tions the assurance of an entire acquittal at the 
hands of the Great Judge of all. 

But when that man took possession of the 
War office, need I repeat the coudition of the 
country f need I repeat the shaoielul tale: our 
forts dismaatled, our cannon and arms stolen, 
the treasury depleted, treason in every depart- 
ment ; no man knowing in. what he <oould 
trust his fellow man Everything was in con- 
fusion, and. yet out of chaos he brought order. 
He did what I say, no other man under the 
same circumstances could have done except he 
had been raised up in the Providence of God 
for that particular purpose. We saw the coun- 
try in that "disturbed and distracted condition, 
everything at sea, with nothiog that we could 
lay our hands upon to claim or call our own, 
no man whom wo could trast ; and yet out of 
all this difficulty, he produced the harmonious 
order that we see to day pervading our whole 
country and array. We saw our flag insulted, 
and men of the south proving themselves 
to be dead to all the glorious memories of the past 
as well as the blessings of the present and the 
hopes of the future, endeavored to separate this 
Union. But, gentlemen, we are here to-night 
to feel thankful that at that paitioular crisis we 
all throughout the North felt that thing could 
never come to pass, bacause we knaw and heard 
it from the hills and valleys of our own State, 
that the genius .of lil)erty cried out against it. 
We felt that all the glorious hopes of civilizition 
plead against it; and we knew that Christianity 
frowned upon it, and above all we could not 
help but recognize the great fact that the physi- 
cal geography of this country spoke ia charac- 
ters of light as long as the Mississippi and as 
broad as the Atlantic, that separation should 
never be. fGreat applause.] And it was just 
at that moment when all these sentiments wer» 
caught up, when that cry of liberty was heard, 
when the hopes of Christianity began to stir, 
tkftt th»t man made up, with a creative talent, 



16 



C'AMEJt6N BAMQOET. 



the grand army of tbe Potcmac, that swore the 
^nion should never be dfetroytd. To him it 
is that we are indebted, to a ctrtaiij exttut for 
the creation of that army of the Potomac and 
its thousands of solditrs who are now carv^iog 
onr banner to victory. Well, is there nothing 
to be proud of in that ? Is (here nothing now 
for ue, 88 American citizens, to feel proud of, as 
swe think to eureelves that the day may come 
when the thiBtle of Scotland may wither, when 
the shumroek of Ireland may dtc-iy, when tbe 
lilly of France may droop, but the stars of 
America, like the stars of heaven, will shiue 
with undimmed radiance, "aaid the crash of 
matter and the wreck of worlds." [Ap- 
plause-l 

Now, Mr. Mayor, let political theorists and 
foreign stiateemen inquire where the power of 
this government exists. It does not exist on 
the statute books. But we know, and this war 
proves dearly and conclusively, that it exists 
in tbe hearts of the loyal and true men of this 
country That is the life of this Dniou. and 
this lile, like liberty itself, remains concealed 
■cntil it meets its opposite, and then, when they 
do meet, it flames forth like angry ligbtniug, 
io blast and blight all that oppose it. [Ap- 
plause.] Here, then, in the masses of the peo 
pie, is our strength. It lies in the strocg t ands 
and true hearts of these who are bearing our 
arms, as it is to them we should look, under 
the Providence of God, for a vindication fit. al' 
onr right^. Let us paw be cbankful tba' wo 
have a government that governs, 'that we 
have a Constitution thit must and shHil be 
obeyed— if not obeyed when writtec in 
parchment, wby then obeyed when clad 
in steel — and which will be of«/«d at all 
hazards and under all consequences ; and let 
traitors know, it is now being written anew in 
the blood of this uation, at the point of tbe 
bayonet. These thoughts, I say, are started in 
our minds by this occasion ; let us remember 
that the present position of the nation, to a 
great extent, has been brought about by tbe 
agency, tke creative talent and endurance of 
the uum to whom we have met here to pay 
our honor and respect. And when he goes be 
yond the sea, on the other side of the conti- 
nent, and looks back here, I do not ssy that 
the banners of victory from other States will 
greet his visicu ; but I do believe— yes, I hope 
and pray — that when ha stands before the 
throne of the Caar of Russia he shall be able 
to say 10 him in plain Saxon-Ecglish: there 
is no divifion here ; we star.d one and indivi- 
sible; and no "pentupUtic.V contracts Ameri- 



ca's powers, but the whole continent is oure.- 
[Great applause] 

David Mumjia, Esq. , then made a few i 
marks explanatory of the gentlemanly kindn< 
and friendly intercourse for which Gen. Cai 
eron had become proverbial in our midst, 
referring to the appointment of thatgentlemi 
to a sea; in the Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln, 1^ 
M. stated that that appointment was eeGUZ< 
by ihe friends of Gea. Cameron before he lu 
any iutliaation of their intention. His wish 
were not consulted in the matter, and it if 
only upon the solicitationij of his friends th 
he was induced to accept the position. '. 
conclusion he expressed the sentiments of s 
who are acquainted with Gen. Oameroo, in 
full aud emphatic endorsement ot hie offici 
career, both as a Senator of the United Stat 
and at the head of what constituted the m( 
important and responsible depaitment of ti 
government. 

BoBT. L. MuEMCH, Esq., was the last spea 
er. Aft'Or what hbd been said in regard to tl 
esteem in which General Cameron was held t 
those present, he considered it a work of snper 
gation to say one word in behalf of that ge 
tleman. He had merely to say that, afl h 
father's son, he would never forgot the frien 
ship of General Cameron. He hoped that tl 
honored guest of the evening would soon retu 
to a happy and prosperous land, to enjoy t) 
renewed fricndehip and regard of his fello 
citizens 

At the conclnsion of Mr. Muench's speec) 
Dr. Baily proposed three cheers for Gen. CaB 
eron, which were given with enthusiasi 
These were followed by three more, as if 
confirm the first in their will and sincerity. 

The hour being late. Gen. Cameron ros 
which seemed to be the signal for the endit 
of the festivities. The company present th< 
individoHlly took leave of Gen. Cameron, ac 
as he stood at the head of the table, each a; 
preached, took him by the hand, uttered ac 
received a kindly wordof greeting and partini 
and then retired. In these farewells, there wt 
much that was pleasing, as they illustrate 
how noble friendship can become, when ; 
binds men together in feelings of kindness an 
reciprocity. The scene was both irapressi'V 
andeloqueot— one thatwill longbe remembere 
by all who were present and partici,iated. 



W4IS 










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